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diff --git a/blog/post/2018-05-18.html b/blog/post/2018-05-18.html deleted file mode 100644 index 76fe048..0000000 --- a/blog/post/2018-05-18.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,307 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html><html><head> -<meta charset="utf-8"> -<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1"> -<meta name="theme-color" content="#000000"> -<title>Chrisoft::Blog(r#"Ideology vs Pragmatism &amp;c.")</title> -<meta name="description" content="«Ideology vs Pragmatism &amp;c.» de spelunca ursae"> -<meta name="author" content="Chris Xiong"> -<script type="text/javascript" src="/panel.js"></script> -<script type="text/javascript" src="/themer.js"></script> -<script type="text/javascript" src="/blog/footnoter.js"></script> -<script type="text/javascript" src="/blog/aes-js.js"></script> -<script type="text/javascript" src="/blog/scrypt.js"></script> -<script type="text/javascript" src="/blog/sha256.js"></script> -<script type="text/javascript" src="/blog/decryptor.js"></script> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/common.css"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/panel.css"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/theme0a.css" id="theme0a"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/theme0b.css" id="theme0b"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/theme1a.css" id="theme1a"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/theme1b.css" id="theme1b"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/theme2a.css" id="theme2a"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/theme2b.css" id="theme2b"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/theme3a.css" id="theme3a"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/theme3b.css" id="theme3b"> -<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/blog/blogext.css"> -<script> -function ol() -{ - window.onresize=function() - { - if(window.innerWidth<768) - setupevents(); - else unsetevents(); - } - window.onresize(); - loadTheme(); - _decryptonload(); -} -</script> -</head> -<body onload="ol()" style="overflow-x:hidden;"> - <div id="panel" class="TText"> - <ul id="panellist"> - <li><a href="/"><h1>Chrisoft</h1></a></li> - <li><a href="/blog"><h2>Blog</h2></a></li> - <li><a href="#"><h3 id="title">Ideology vs Pragmatism &c.</h3></a></li> - <li><span>Tags</span> - <ul id="tagslist"> - <li><a href="/blog/list/sophistry/">sophistry</a></li><li><a href="/blog/list/garbage/">garbage</a></li></ul> - </li> - <li id="tocouter"> - <span>Table of Contents</span> - <ul id="tocroot"> - <li><a class="toctarg" href="#tocanch0">Preface</a></li><li><a class="toctarg" href="#tocanch1">Ideology vs Pragmatism</a></li><li><a class="toctarg" href="#tocanch2">Free Software vs "Normies"</a></li><li><a class="toctarg" href="#tocanch3">"Free" vs "Open Source"</a></li><li><a class="toctarg" href="#tocanch4">Free software in China</a></li><li><a class="toctarg" href="#tocanch5">Monetization of Free Software</a></li><li><a class="toctarg" href="#tocanch6">Final words</a></li></ul> - </li> - <li style="margin-left:-0.5em"><a id="prevp" href="2018-05-08.html">Prev post</a></li> - <li style="margin-left:-0.5em"><a id="nextp" href="2018-06-05.html">Next post</a></li> - </ul> - </div> - <div id="content"> - <h2 id="titleh" class="TText" style="font-wight:normal;">Ideology vs Pragmatism &c.</h2> - <div id="datetags" class="TText" style="margin-bottom:1em;">2018-05-18<br>#sophistry #garbage</div> - <hr><div id="article" class="TText"> -<article> -<h2 id="tocanch0" class="tvis">Preface</h2> -<p> -Born in the 90s, when almost every piece of software around was -proprietary, I felt *exteremely* lucky that I can now power my life using -(mostly) free software. Still, I might never be able to understand the case -in the 70s, in which, according to Richard Stallman, every piece of software -is basically free. -</p> -<h2 id="tocanch1" class="tvis">Ideology vs Pragmatism</h2> -<p> -There are Linux distros<a id="n1" href="#note1" class="note">[1]</a> -whose software repository contains free software only (e.g. Trisquel & -Parabola). There are also distros that doesn't care much about licenses -(e.g. ArchLinux). Some distros falls between the two extremes: Debian -has a <code>main</code> section which is entirely made up of free software, -but it also has <code>contrib</code> and <code>non-free</code> -<a id="n2" href="#note2" class="note">[2]</a> sections in their repository, which can be added to the system -quite easily. -</p> -<p> -To most of us who do not have a requirement on every single piece of -software being free, we still have to use non-free components -- even to -make the toaster<a id="n3" href="#note3" class="note">[3]</a> fully working. For -example, non-free blobs in the Linux kernel and drivers. Using "free" distros -on these computers essentially cripple the core functionality of that -computer. If most users require non-free components, it makes sense that -the distro providers include them in the software repository. As a matter -of fact, I haven't met any user of a "free" distro outside of GNU. -<a id="n4" href="#note4" class="note">[4]</a> -</p> -<p> -Using a distro that provides proprietary software should not be considered -a sin to free software. -Actually it's a huge step towards freedom in today's world dominated by -proprietary software. In order to remind the user of this, it is the -responsibitliy for the distro provider to tell the user about the benefits -of free software and advocate them contributing to it. -</p> -<p> -Since I've got no mysophobia of proprietary software personally, I don't -really care about installing proprietary software on my mostly free system. -I prefer using free software whenever one is available. But if the use of -free software results in crippling the core functionality (e.g. removing -firmware blobs from the kernel causing WLAN cards made by Intel not -working), I may compromise and install a few pieces of proprietary software -(instead of using an external WLAN card like RMS). -<a id="n5" href="#note5" class="note">[5]</a> -</p> -<h2 id="tocanch2" class="tvis">Free Software vs "Normies"</h2> -<p> -The idea of free software won't spread widely if it fails on the "normies". -Everything about free software is a circlejerk of us <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html">hackers</a> -if we ignore the "normies". Sadly that is just the case right now. -</p> -<p> -The major reason that free software fail to become daily driver of most -people is that probably most free software targets at "mega-nerds" instead -of the vast amount of computer "normies". These "normies" just use their -computers either to get their office work done or to browse the web -(sometimes both). In this sense, free software often offer terrible -experience: Linux distributions, if not pre-installed by device vendor, -often have bad out-of-box experience (either missing driver or firmware, -or the software requiring too much tweaks to make it actually usable). -Another example is window manager: the most popular window manager used -by desktop Linux users is i3, whose default interface is obscure to new -users and needs a lot of configuration before it suits the user. Only -people that are really keen on tweaking would do that. -</p> -<p> -Things are changing though. Some free software makers, for example the -GNOME Fundation, are striving to make free software more user-friendly -and fool-proof. They recently removed the ability to run executables -directly in the file manager to prevent the user from accently running -a malicious script that destroys their computer. -<a id="n6" href="#note6" class="note">[6]</a> -But in my opinion the components should remain customizable for the users -who "knows what they are doing". -</p> -<h2 id="tocanch3" class="tvis">"Free" vs "Open Source"</h2> -<p> -Richard Stallman has made multiple statements on how he dislikes the term -"Open Source". I pretty much simply repeat one of his points here. -</p> -<p> -"Free" and "Open Source" has a large part in common: in fact, being "free" -requires the software to be "open source". However the idea laying below -is very different: The term "open source" is currently being abused by -gigantic companies as a weasel word to avoid using "free". They often use -free component in their proprietary products and doesn't want to remind the -user that there is a free counterpart that doesn't take the freedom from -them. A famous example of this is Google Chrome and -Chromium. <a id="n7" href="#note7" class="note">[7]</a> Similarly, Microsoft "loves" Linux because it is "open source", -not because it is "free".<a id="n8" href="#note8" class="note">[8]</a> -</p> -<p> -On the other hand, Linus seems to be at the opposite end of it. -<a id="n9" href="#note9" class="note">[9]</a> -Pleased to learn that this world is never lack of diversity. -</p> -<h2 id="tocanch4" class="tvis">Free software in China</h2> -<p> -Free software is not having a good time in China: -</p> -<ul> -<li> -As Chinese use two distinct words for "free" as in beer and "free" as in -freedom, we should have faced less problems than the English-speaking -community. Sadly, almost all tranlators used the word for free beer when -translating "free software". -</li> -<li> -"Thanks" to the crappy copyright law in China, pirating software and -reverse engineering is explictly allowed with some restrictions, making -free software a lot less known to the general public -<a id="n10" href="#note10" class="note">[10]</a>. -That same crappy copyright law also gave chance to massive GPL violations. -Examples: <a href="https://linux-sunxi.org/GPL_Violations">AllWinner</a>, -<a href="https://www.xda-developers.com/gplv2-and-its-infringement-by-xiaomi/">XiaoMi</a> -and <a href="https://www.xda-developers.com/have-you-paid-your-linux-kernel-source-license-fee/">MediaTek</a><a id="n11" href="#note11" class="note">[11]</a>. -</li> -<li> -As China wasn't actually involved in the software industry until proprietary -software has almost taken the whole thing, there are misconceptions -regarding free software in the Chinese community. For example, the -definition of 'source code' in <i>A Dictionary of Current Chinese</i> -claims "protecting the source code helps to lower the chance of being -hacked". -</li> -<li> -Software engineering college in China only teach the process of proprietary -software engineering. Although they utilize free software a lot through -out the college, they do not promote the use of free software for 'serious -work', often putting an emphasis on the strengths of proprietary software. -</li> -</ul> -<p> -As currently the entire Chinese software industry is really addicted (and -devoted) to AI, ML, IoT and their 'made in China' nonsense, chance of -solving these problems seems bleak. Also Chinese doesn't do stuff that -makes no money, but ... -</p> -<h2 id="tocanch5" class="tvis">Monetization of Free Software</h2> -<p> -... free software <i>can</i> make money. Ethically. -</p> -<p> -By saying ethically I am not promoting the act of getting a maga-sponsor -and just doing anything they requested. The only ethical way for free -software to monetize is probably paid support and donation. Red Hat is a -well-known company that made sheer amount of money out of free software. -<sup><s>Sarcasm. You should have known it.</s></sup> -However, not everyone would succeed following that route (even Microsoft -failed to figure out how to make it work /s). Thus the choice for the vast -number of smaller free software projects would be donation. So why is -accepting donation a good idea? -</p> -<ul> -<li>The user donates what ever they want (money, hardware, code, -translation etc.) voluntarily, and...</li> -<li>There's no cap on donation amount, so those who got the fortune may -donate <a href="https://dot.kde.org/2018/02/19/kde-receives-200000-usd-donation-pineapple-fund">a good deal of stuff</a>.</li> -<li>Those who don't yet have the ability to donate would not be triggered. -More over, the spirit of "free as in freedom" remains intact. -</li> -</ul> -<p> -But when things come to money, people starts getting greedy. -Don't let your greed ruin the entire project. -</p> -<h2 id="tocanch6" class="tvis">Final words</h2> -<p> -This article is full of my immature thoughts and rants. Fortunately due to -the low popularity of this site, they would not be exposed too much. -Writing such a long article is really a pain in my ass though. -</p> -<p> -If you have different opinions, please consider -<a href="/#about">telling me about it</a> and probably correcting me if I -made a mistake. -</p> -</article> -<!-- -vim: syntax=html ---> -</div><br><hr> - <div class="TText" id="notediv" style="font-size:80%;"><span class="TText"><a id="note1" href="#n1">[1]</a>: By saying "Linux distros" in this article, -I am refering to GNU/Linux distributions, except Alpine Linux.<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note2" href="#n2">[2]</a>: They use their very own guideline (DFSG) to determine whether -a piece of software is free or not. The most famous difference between -DFSG and GNU's guideline is that according to DFSG, GFDL is a nonfree -license, which, in my opinion, is pretty ridiculous. -<i>Such ideology, much hilarious.</i> -<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note3" href="#n3">[3]</a>: i.e. computer<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note4" href="#n4">[4]</a>: There's one exception: Pure OS from Purism, which is tailored for -their Librem devices. So it runs without proprietary software on their -devices just find. Of course I haven't seen one of those either because -I live in China. But I expect my next laptop to be a Librem 13 as long as -they improve the battery life and make it thinner -- at least on par with the -ThinkPad X line products.<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note5" href="#n5">[5]</a>: Yup I may never program OpenGL on a libreboot-ed ThinkPad T400 -or X200. Those ThinkPads were a classic but perform pretty bad whenever -I do CPU-intense jobs. -<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note6" href="#n6">[6]</a>: -This is half truth, half sarcasm. It <i>does</i> make nautilus fool-proof -(kind of). -GNOME is always removing customizability from their desktop environment -recently, which I can't tell is good or not. This indeed reveals the -dictatorial decision-making process inside the development cycle. -<b>However, <a href="https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/nautilus/commit/ce73de0c98f1d32cdafc40775ee59692f5a7288d"> -this change has been reverted a week ago</a>. Cringy.</b> -<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note7" href="#n7">[7]</a>: Chromium is actually a pretty nasty example of free -software: it contains tracking code from Google. Efforts have been made to -strip those from the browser. The resulting product is called "Iridium". -<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note8" href="#n8">[8]</a>: Probably because Microsoft doesn't know -how to make profit with free software.<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note9" href="#n9">[9]</a>: -<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw58LZTuZjA">a</a> -<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b89fKsT1i7s">b</a> -<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note10" href="#n10">[10]</a>: also making China an ideal place to reverse engineer something /s. -<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note11" href="#n11">[11]</a>: Taiwan (whether a part of -China or not. No politics here.) has better environment for free software in -general, but still horrible.<br></span></div> - <div id="insanch" style="height:3em;"></div> - <div id="footer" style=""> - <div id="pagesw" class="TText" style="width:100%;height:0.5em;"></div> - <div style="text-align:center;" class="TText"> - Proudly powered by SSBS <reduced style="font-size:70%;">(the static stupid blogging system)</reduced> 2.5 - <br> - Content licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. <span id="purgep" style="display:none;font-size:70%;">This page has passphrase(s) stored. 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